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Amid freezing rain, snow, and a biting wind off the banks of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute Hull City side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this presented all the makings of a challenging evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We could have added to our tally but Hull are a strong team and it was a tough fixture; I am delighted with the display," he said. "This club means a lot to me so it was nice to get a positive welcome from the fans of supporters. The application of the lads was excellent."

Liam Chelsea manager holds this city close to his heart, considering some of his relatives are from Hull and his successful spell in charge of the Championship club. This happy association was extended with a commanding display from his team, who ultimately strolled into the next round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Finishing Secures Comfortable Victory

Seventy-two hours removed from surrendering a two-goal advantage in the Premier League, there was a hint of fragility about them going into this intriguing tie. The packed home crowd clearly felt it too, but the London side navigated the challenge perfectly.

Rosenior rang the changes, making seven of them to his XI. The tie might and perhaps should have been decided long before it actually was, with both the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap guilty of missing glorious opportunities to put Chelsea ahead in the opening period.

However, fortunately for the away team, their Portuguese attacker was in a far more clinical mood. He broke the scoring with a spectacular long-range effort, which proved to be the spark for his team to assume control of the match. By full time, they had four, with the forward netting three of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

Delap's Response and Impact

The home side showed plenty of fight all game, but the better opportunities always came Chelsea’s way. The winger should have broken the deadlock when he rounded keeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably shooting over. Delap then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's clearance which bounced back from the bar, and Delap began to run away believing the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had reacted to clear the threat.

Delap had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely influential from that point onward, registering three key passes. The first was for the opening goal as his pass set up Neto to score from range. Shortly after the second half began, it was 2-0 as the forward's set-piece went directly in under Phillips's legs.

Tie Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Shifts

Seven minutes after Neto’s second, the tie was effectively ended as a magnificent run from the forward teed up Estêvão to tap into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then finished his treble as Delap once again delivered the crucial ball for the striker to calmly convert past a stranded goalkeeper.

At that point, the effort Hull had done in the opening half-hour had been forgotten. Their priority must now switch back to securing a return to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who left out several key players with that goal in mind.

"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good position in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the upcoming games this can be a good example of how we should play."

There was great effort to the final whistle, and they nearly claimed a consolation when a substitute hit a the upright in injury time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging stride for their new head coach at a stadium he knows intimately.

Cup History Look Good

The result resulted in an in the end routine night's performance, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are positive from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three other times in this tournament in the last decade and on each occasion, they have gone on to reach the showpiece. There is remains to be work in that respect, but this was another significant tick for Rosenior.